Material Evidence: John Wilkes Booth

Tonight I try to escape these bloodhounds once more … I have too great a soul to die like a criminal.

Booth’s diary, written between April 17–22, 1865

At the end of Booth’s escape, Booth and David Herold were sleeping in a tobacco barn at Richard Garrett’s Virginia farmhouse when federal troops surrounded them. Herold surrendered, but Booth refused. After several hours of negotiations, the soldiers set the barn on fire. Union soldier Thomas “Boston” Corbett fired the fatal shot into Booth’s neck, ending his escape and avenging the assassinated Lincoln.

The objects found on Booth’s person showed the amount of planning he had put into his escape. He used these weapons for defense and the map and compass to navigate.

In contrast, Booth’s photos of his girlfriends show his human side. He left behind a successful career as a popular actor to act on his hatred of Lincoln.

What Booth Carried

Explore Now

U.S. Army soldiers found this dagger on Booth’s body after they caught and killed him. It was the dagger he used to stab Major Henry Rathbone at Ford's Theatre. Notice the words engraved in the blade: “Liberty” and “America.”

Lucy Hale was rumored to be the secret fiancée of John Wilkes Booth. Her father was Senator John Hale of Maine, an ardent abolitionist. After the assassination, Hale’s parents went to great lengths to disassociate their daughter from Booth.

Four of the five photos Booth carried with him on his escape were of actresses, including Effie Germon (1845-1914). Germon was on the stage at another Washington theatre, Grover’s, the night that Booth murdered Lincoln. Tad Lincoln, the president’s son, was in the audience for a performance of Aladdin or the Wonderful Lamp.